The Hyundai Elantra with 534 units ranked ninth, while the Subaru Impreza (450) completed the top 10, squeezing out the Kia Cerato (420) and the Nissan Pulsar (348) – the latter number representing launch vehicles and dealer registrations ahead of the Pulsar’s official February 1 on-sale date.

Despite small cars making up 22.4 per cent of the new car market for the month, demand for vehicles in the segment declined 1.2 per cent compared with January 2012. The light car segment performed significantly stronger, expanding 19.1 per cent over the same month in 2012.